Free Reusable Tote @ Target (4/17)

To Kick off Earth Week on Sunday, Target is offering 1 free reusable tote per customer with any purchase. They are giving out 1 million of these just as they did last year. These went quickly at stores in larger metro areas, but if you live in small locations (like us) they won't disappear quite as quickly. Last year I went to Target in our area in the evening on the day they were giving them away and they still had them left.

Also, remember that Target will give you 5-cents off your total for every reusable bag that you bring & use at Target. And last year when they gave me my free bag, they also gave me 5-cents off.

Sign Up for Recyclebank & Earn Free Rewards!

Have you heard of Recyclebank? If not, you will want to know all about it and sign up so that you can win free coupons & discounts.

If you are lucky enough to live in an area that gives you points for recycling, you can accumulate quickly. If not, do not despair because you earn points by purchasing Kashi products, taking pledges, learning about how to Green Your Home, taking a quiz, referring a friend, recycling electronics and more things that come up.

Tomorrow, Recyclebank will be unlocking another room in the "Green Your Home" Challenge. Currently there are 2 rooms unlocked and I earned 70 points just from those and another 40 points from taking the Aveeno pledges. Both these things are still available, plus more.

And because it's Earth Month, they have DISCOUNTED rewards all month. Some of these rewards are high value coupons.

My favorite discounted rewards are:

$1 off a Dagoba Organic Chocolate Bar (30pts)

$2 off any Naked Juice Product (30pts)

$1 off any bottle of Honest Tea (30pts)

$2 off Any Aveeno Product (30pts)

20% off at Uncommon Goods (10pts)

Some other pretty Awesome (regular) rewards are:

$10 off $50 in-store @ Macy's (100pts)

Free McCafe Latte @ McDonalds (100pts)

Free Fruit & Maple Oatmeal @ McDonalds (100pts)

Free Premium Salad w/ Happy Meal Purchase @ McDonalds (100pts)

2 Cans of Fancy Feast Cat Food Coupon (75pts)

Free Spring Water at Holiday Gas Station (30pts)

Free 20oz Coffee @ Holiday Gas Stations (50pts)

Free Bag of Wonderful Pistashios (200pts)

Free Happy Baby Product (200pts)

Free Tree Sapling & Aveeno Samples (200pts)

Free Magazine Subscriptions, a variety of options (115pts)

PLUS....several $10 gift card options at 2500 pts level

Some deals may vary by area.

So, why wait? SIGN UP NOW!

Free Coupon Uncle Matt's Organic Lemonade

This offer for a free coupon for Uncle Matt's Organic Lemonade was featured in the most recent issue of Kiwi Magazine that I received today.

You should get your coupon in 2-4 weeks. It doesn't say the value of the coupon, so I guess we get to be surprised.

#186 Make a Fabric Rosette Headband

I had lots of leftover fabric from making my daughter's Easter dress because there were limited ways I could lay the pattern pieces so that that pattern created by the stitching on the fabric would line up properly. So, I am going to need to come up with some ideas of things to make to use up the excess fabric. One of these things is a rosette headband.

First thing I did was take a leftover whipped topping cover and cut around that circle to create a while fabric circle. Next I cut a spiral from the outside of the circle to the inside. Finally I twisted the fabric together starting from the outside of the spiral working to the center of the spiral. Then I hot glued the bottom to keep all the layers in place. Now you have a completed rosette.

To attach the rosette to the headband I first used hot glue to adhere the rosettes to a piece of matching felt. Then I cut around the base of the rosette, removing the excess felt. Finally, I applied hot glue to the location on the headband that I wanted the rosettes. And that's it! Super simple to make and makes and elegant statement.

If you liked the idea on how to make this pretty headband, be sure to check Northern Cheapskate later this month when I will guest blog about how to make a Boutique-style Flower Headband.

And if you were interested in seeing it, this is the dress that I made my daughter for Easter. I can't wait to see her in it with her matching headband.

#185 Make a Wooden Raised Garden Bed

I was planning on saving this project for Earth Week when I plan to do a new project or test out a natural cleaning method each day of the week, but my husband really wanted to thatch and I really wanted all those clipping starting out as a base layer in my new raised bed.

This project was super easy for me because all I had to do was help hold the wood in place while he hammered. But it's not a difficult project. I had seen a post on making a $10 raised 4'x4'x8" garden bed and thought that price sounded perfect. And even better price was FREE when my husband told me he could make me a 4'x4'x10" with untreated lumber that we had in our garage not being used.

We are planning on making two more of these and the price of the untreated lumber in 10" was increased to $15 per bed. So, in the end I will have 3 new raised beds that are taller for the same price as three of the 8" beds because we used what we had available.

The only supplies you really need is untreated lumber that you will cut in 4' lengths and galvanized nails (these won't rust.) Make sure you buy untreated lumber because you don't want anything that is in treated lumber to leech in to your plants & food. The article that inspired me to make these garden beds ourselves out of wood claims that her beds out of untreated lumber lasted 15 years.

After we finished assembling the pieces, he placed cardboard on the bottom to prevent grasses from growing through and eventually the cardboard will compost. The next layer we placed in here was brown grass and leaves that my husband thatched from the lawn. My preferred method of gardening is called Lasagna Gardening, so we will continue to add more layers including straw, peat, compost, etc.

25 Packets of Organic Seeds for $4.99 (ENDED)

THIS WENT VERY QUICKLY. THEY HAVE ALREADY POSTED THAT THEY HAVE GIVEN AWAY 100 MILLION SEEDS.

This is such an awesome deal. Go to the Seeds of Change website and order your 25 seeds packets for $4.99 ($75 value). I placed my order and it said it will be here in 2-6 weeks. My fingers crossed it will be in time for our next planting playgroup we plan to have at our home.

If you are an organization you can buy 100 seed packets for $14.99.

This offer will end when they have given away a 100 million seeds.

And you know what is even better, for every seed request they are doing a matching donation to the American Horticulture Society.

And while you are on their website, don't forget to print a $1 off coupon for Seeds of Change Organic Product.

Grow Your Own Sprouts

I don't know why I don't grow sprouts more than once or twice a year. It's so simple and save your money at the grocery store. Usually the cost of sprouts is about $1.99 if you want organic sprouts or $1.49 if you want conventionally grown sprouts, but I pay about 50-cents for the amount of organic seeds it would take to equal the amount in one of these containers in the store. Plus, you need to add in the cost of a new nylon (Wal-Mart sells knee-his in an egg container for 33-cents a pair, so I pick up one of those, and usually get 2 batches out of each one which makes it cost about 9 cents per batch for supplies.)

The only other supplies you need is a quart jar & lid, which if you already own then it's free, and some water.

It take a week to grow your sprouts, but if you really like sprouts you could get another jar going a few days after you start your first one.

What I love about growing my own sprouts, besides the fact that is helps ease a vegetable gardening itch during mid-winter, is that my kids can watch the seeds grow and become amazed at how fast they grow and change.

If you would like, you can check out my post last year on Growing Sprouts, and check out the storyboard I made 2 years ago that shows earlier stages of the sprouts growing.

Finally, this is the website I used to learn how to grow my sprouts. It gives easy instructions with lots of pictures. Start today and in a week you could be enjoying your own home-grown sprouts!